Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Mouthwash Manufacturers Cautioned Against Unproven Claims


By MARAH S.D. RUIZ
September 29, 2010, 3:56pm
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to Johnson & Johnson, CVS Corporation and Walgreen Company, cautioning these three mouthwash manufacturers against unproven claims about their respective products.
These three companies claim that their mouthwash can help prevent gum disease, but the FDA refutes this saying that while sodium fluoride, an ingredient found in all three mouthwash brands, can help prevent cavities, there is no proof that it can prevent gum disease or plaque.
The FDA has ordered the three companies to take appropriate actions in 15 days or their products would be seized in addition to the possibility of facing civil or criminal penalties.
Source:

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

5 Surprising Benefits of Alcohol

Longevity

The news about wine keeps getting better. Dutch researchers say that a half-glass of wine per day might help you live longer--five years longer, in fact. (Remember, though, excessive drinking can lead to health problems that may shorten your life.) Though the researchers note that more study is needed, the theory is that light alcohol consumption--and especially red wine--may contribute to longevity because the "polyphenolic compounds contained in wine have been seen in animals to stop the build up of fatty tissue in the arteries that can result in stroke or heart attack."

5 Surprising Benefits of Alcohol // Couple drinking wine (© Brigitte Sporrer/Cultura/Getty Images)

Improves Heart Health
Japanese researchers believe that light to moderate drinking paired with socialization (enter happy hour) can significantly reduce your risk for heart disease. While the researchers mostly looked at men, it's easy to see why the findings could be true for women too. Most health experts are fine with light drinking--one glass per day (but not every day) for women. And aren't we all happier when we're spending time with friends?

5 Surprising Benefits of Alcohol // Men in ties with martinis (© Roy Hsu/UpperCut Images/Getty Images)
Reduces Inflammation
Those who drink were found to have a significantly reduced risk of developing several arthritic conditions including Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Osteoarthritis (OA), reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondylarthropathy, according to Dutch researchers. Researchers aren't exactly certain why alcohol consumption (note, no guidelines were given as to which type of alcohol and how much, but we can safely assume that the scientists are talking about moderate drinking here), but they speculate that alcohol may have inflammation-reducing effects.
5 Surprising Benefits of Alcohol // Hands of knitting woman (© Tetra Images/Photolibrary)
Aids Weight Loss
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who studied the alcohol consumption of more than 19,000 women over 13 years found that women who drank a "light to moderate amount of alcohol" (defined by no more than two servings a day of wine, beer or liquor--I'll add that some studies have found that any more than one drink per day for females to be excessive, so just file that away) tended to gain less weight than women who didn't drink. The study was recently published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
An explanation, please? "Women who drink moderate amounts of alcohol tend to eat less food, particularly carbohydrates," said cardiologist Lu Wang, lead researcher on the study and an instructor at Brigham and Women's Hospital, who spoke to USA Today.

5 Surprising Benefits of Alcohol // Woman on scale (© Dougal Waters/Getty Images)

 Fights Osteoporosis
A new studyreports that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon. Dietary what? It's an ingredient believed to increase bone mineral density, and researchers from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California, Davis, say that beer is loaded with it.
They studied commercial beer production and found that most commercial beer--especially hoppy beer--is a rich source of dietary silicon. Based on these findings, the scientists suggest that moderate beer consumption may actually help fight osteoporosis.

 5 Surprising Benefits of Alcohol // Close up of bone structure (© Geoffrey Stewart/The Medical File/Peter Arnold Images/Photolibrary)

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Medical Evidence Urge to Backup VCO Claims

By MARVYN N. BENANING
September 8, 2010, 4:41pm
Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Coconut Authority Wednesday urged virgin coconut oil (VCO) and coconut oil (CNO) manufacturers to back up with solid medical evidence the touted beneficial effects of their products on human health.
PCA Administrator Oscar G. Garin said this is necessary to reassure consumers that there is ironclad evidence that VCO and CNO are good products that reduce cholesterol levels and guarantee better defense against diseases.
“Nine years after the market launch of the VCO, what we have secured so far is a rapidly growing market which gives credence to the health enhancing capabilities of the product as spread by personal testimonies and anecdotal stories of people from around the world” Garin noted.
“Without a solid clinical and medical study on our hand, we may not hold a secure and sustainable future for the VCO and other coconut-based food products” the PCA chief stressed.
Garin recalled that the coconut industry had been maligned by competitors who allegedly misinformed the market in the United States by declaring that coconut oil is bad for human health.
“We went down, the industry suffered badly to such an extent that it was considered as a sunset industry” the PCA chief emphasized.
“Thanks to researches undertaken around the world and the scientists who maintained their faith in the coconut industry, we were able to rebound,” Garin said.
He cited the work of Drs. Conrado Dayrit, Mary Enig, Bruce Fife and many others in defending the coconut industry and proving that the criticisms against coconut oil were scientifically untenable.
 “Their researches, which affirmed the beneficial effects of coconut oil and showed its being neutral to heart and vascular diseases, curative of HIV/AIDS, antimicrobial, and similar to mother’s milk, showed that coconut oil is probably the healthiest type vegetable oil on earth,” Garin said.
In spite of these, the PCA chief still called for definitive clinical studies to beef up the host of anecdotal evidence on the beneficial effects of VCO and CNO, particularly on control of cholesterol levels.
Considering the magnitude, precision and scientific rigor the clinical study requires, Garin said PCA is poised to call for public-private partnership for the activity in line with the call of President Benigno S. Aquino III for greater collaboration, particularly on R&D.
“We know that all business entities, including our coconut products manufacturers, are allowed by law to set aside a certain percentage of their income for use in their R&D, the same amount is allowable as deduction for tax due,” he said.
Published in Manila Bulletin September 9, 2010.